


Silent and Strange

by Xakkey03



Series: Silent & Strange [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other, Rare Pairings, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2018-12-01 13:57:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11487786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xakkey03/pseuds/Xakkey03
Summary: Best friend Tendou Satori.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Best friend Tendou Satori.

**CHAPTER 1:**

 

**_AKAASHI_ **

 

_Monday 6:24 am..._

 

He opened his eyes, wishing he didn’t have to, wanting to spend forever in his bed lost in his dreams. He laid there staring at the plain ceiling, when his phone alarm suddenly went off. He sat up with a sigh and reached over to his desk and shut it off. He crawled out of bed, grabbed a pair of shorts off the chair next to his desk and pulled them on his naked body. He ran a hand through his hair as he shuffled out of his room and up the short hallway to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom he turned the shower on and let the water run hot for a few minutes. He brushed his teeth as he waited until the bathroom became steamy before stripping off his shorts and climbing into the shower. He took his time showering, enjoying the heat wrapped around him and allowing himself to relax before he began his day. After about twenty minutes in the shower he turned the water off and reached for the towels on the hooks on the wall just outside the shower. He dried his body off with one of the towels before wrapping it around his waist and stepping out of the shower. He stood in front of the sink and avoided looking in the mirror as he dried his hair.

 

He hung the towels back up, picked up his shorts off the floor, and walked back to his bedroom. He opened his drawers and pulled out a pair of boxers, he pulled them on and shuffled to his closet. He pulled out his favorite pair of black jeans and pulled them on before digging through his drawers for a t-shirt. He found the light grey t-shirt he was looking for and pulled it over his head. He then found a pair of socks and pulled them on before running his hands through his hair. He glanced at his desk and grabbed his cellphone and charger. He shoved his cellphone into his front pocket as he walked out of his room and headed to the kitchen.

 

It was quiet in his apartment......as it should be. He was single and he lived alone in a two-bedroom apartment complete with an eat in kitchen and a living room. He had various paintings strewn about his apartment, completed ones hanging on the walls or propped up on the walls and furniture and unfinished ones carefully propped up on easels. The second bedroom was used to store his art supplies and paintings for when he had guests over or simply to just store his extra art supplies. His bedroom was at one end of the hall and the front door to his apartment was at the other end. The second bedroom was up the hall to the left of this bedroom and the bathroom was on the right. The kitchen was also on the right side of the apartment and the living room on the left.

 

Once he was in the kitchen he started the already prepped coffee pot and walked over to the refrigerator. He opened it, grabbed a small container of fruit salad and munched on it as the coffee brewed. Once the coffee was done, he quickly made himself a cup and slowly drank it. He glanced to the clock on the time on the coffee pot and sighed a he realized it was time to leave. He walked towards the front door and grabbed his keys and wallet off the little table just inside the door and slid the wallet into his other front pocket. He slid his feet into his gym shoes before opening his book bag - that was sitting on the floor near the table - and dropping his charger into it. He grabbed his earbuds off the table, plugged them into his phone and hit play on the song he had to practice tonight. He opened his front door and shuffled out before closing and locking it behind him.

 

He was glad his apartment building was near the train station and it was only a twenty minute ride to his university. He is an art major at Shiratori University and will be starting his second year at the school. By the time he got to campus he had just over an hour before his first class was supposed to start. He only arrived early because a friend demanded they meet in the morning before class. His phone started buzzing in pocket and he pulled it out and accepted the call without unplugging his earbuds.

 

" _Meet me near Fukurou! I'm headed there now!"_ A loud voice shouted through his earbuds.

 

 _"Fine."_ He sighed and hung up. He pressed play on his music again and started heading across campus towards the coffee shop.

 

"Yoohoo!  _Keijiii~~~_ " A familiar voice yelled from behind him. He turned around just as impossibly long arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a tight hug. He returned the embrace as a slight smile made its way on his face.

 

"I missed you!" A voice mumbled into the top of his head.

 

"I wish I could say the same, Satori." He replied. The arms around him loosened and the body pulled away slightly.

 

"You're so mean Keiji! You know you missed me!" Satori whined. Akaashi grinned up at his friend before pulling him back into the hug.

 

"Of course I did." He said and Satori laughed. They hugged a bit longer before Akaashi pulled away.

 

"We need to talk about schedules and determine when to meet up! Also, I may be spending the night at your place." Tendou declared as they continued walking to the coffee shop. Upon arriving at the coffee shop Tendou opened the door and pushed Akaashi in before following him.

 

"Hi! Welcome to Fukurou!" A voice greeted them from somewhere behind the counter. Tendou leaned over the counter to see Shirofuku Yukie sitting on the floor stuffing a donut into her mouth.

 

"Yukie?" Akaashi asked Tendou just as Suzumeda Kaori walked through door leading to the kitchen that was behind the counter.

 

"Dammit Yukie! You were supposed to put those on the serving tray!" Kaori yelled as she took the box with the remaining donuts.

 

"I was hungry! And it's not like we have many people yet anyway, I can munch on the food." Yukie pouted.

 

"We'd like to order now." Akaashi said as he stared at the pair. Tendou chuckled at his bluntness before grinning at the ladies.

 

"What would you two like?" Kaori asked and the two placed their orders before claiming a table near the window.

 

"Sooooo how was your break?" Tendou asked the quiet man.

 

"It was fine. I painted." Akaashi replied as he glanced around the shop.

 

"Keiji." Tendou warned and waited for his to look at him. Akaashi looked over at his friend whose head was tilted and eyes focused on him unblinking. He knew he had no choice but to answer, the face Satori was making said that he was going to get an answer now.

 

"It really was fine and I pretty much spent my time in my apartment or in the art museum on campus." Akaashi sighed.

 

"You didn't go home?" Tendou asked as Kaori walked over to the table and placed their orders on the table. Keiji waited until she walked away before answering Tendou's question.

 

"No I didn't but my mom came and visited for a bit. So that was nice."

 

"Did he call?" Tendou asked before taking a bite out of the banana muffin he ordered.

 

"You know he did. I only replied to texts every now and then but I didn't pick up any calls."

 

"Dammit Keiji, you can't keep avoiding him."

 

"Yes I can."

 

"No you can’t."

 

"Yes I can."

 

"No the fuck you can't."

 

"Yes the fuck I can."

 

"Dammit Keiji."

 

"Dammit Satori."

 

The two friends stared at each other over the cups they had raised to their mouths. Tendou sat his cup down as he burst into laughter and Akaashi smiled. He loved that his friend was able to challenge him without backing down. Very few people could make him comfortable enough to be himself and Satori was one of them. Most people only got close to him with the intention of asking him out. They never bothered to get to know him, they only really cared about his looks. He frowned down and placed his cup on the table. He went to move his hands to his lap when two hands came into his sight and wrapped around his.

 

"Stop thinking about it Keiji." Satori said in a low voice. Akaashi nodded his head and the frown vanished from his face. Satori grinned and squeezed his hands before letting go.

 

"Let's talk about our schedules!" Satori suggested and Akaashi was glad to have something else to think about. They began talking and discovered they had their last two classes together, one before the campus lunch break and one afterwards. They also discovered that they both had all their classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Tuesdays and Thursdays free, with the exception of work and homework. They finished their sweets and drinks and parted ways with the promise to sit together in their class later.

 

Akaashi's first two classes went by without any problems and he was glad for that. The class he was headed to now was ceramics, the class his adviser all but demanded he take so that he could  _"experience"_ and  _"appreciate"_ other forms of art. He quickly headed to the art building and spotted Tsukishima and Tendou standing outside the building. Tendou saw him and grinned.

 

"Guess who has classes with glasses?" Tendou laughed and Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

 

"I assume that we all have ceramics together?" Tsukishima asked and Akaashi nodded his head as they walked into the four-story building. The main floor was for the professors offices, the second floor was assigned to graphic design, the third floor was assigned to digital design, the fourth floor was assigned to painting and the basement was assigned to ceramics and sculpting. They made their way down the staircase to the basement.

 

"I didn't realize there were windows down here." Tendou said as he glanced around.

 

"Aren't you an art major?" Tsukishima smirked and Tendou frowned at him.

 

"I don't come down here. I'm only on the second floor when I am in here." Tendou snapped.

 

"Only the front of the building is actually underground, thanks to the hill the building sits partially on. The back half of the building isn't in the same situation." Akaashi explained. They found the classroom they needed to be in for class and walked in. There were six rectangular tables in the classroom and each had six seats placed at them. They sat at the back of the classroom where one of the two big windows was at. Akaashi sat down next to the window in the seat facing the front of the class, Tendou sat next to him and Tsukishima sat next to Tendou.

 

"You guys have this class too? How wonderful!" A voice called out to them and the three turned to see Oikawa and Sugawara standing in the doorway. The two sat at the table with them, Sugawara sitting across from Akaashi and Oikawa sitting next to him.

 

"I'm sure you all know Suga-chan who works in the library." Oikawa said as he gave a dramatic wave in Sugawara's direction.

 

"Please just call me Suga, I really don't like being called  _'Suga-chan'_." Suga said as he briefly glanced at Oikawa.

 

"Don't be mean Suga-chan!" Oikawa whined as he started pouting.

 

"Anyway....I know Tsukki because we played volleyball together in high school - " Suga started.

 

"Please don't call me Tsukki." Tsukishima interrupted.

 

" - I know Tendou because I played against his volleyball team..." Suga said as he ignored Tsukishima. He then turned his attention to Akaashi who met his gaze.

 

 

"...And I feel like I should know you..."

 

"Akaashi Keiji." Akaashi said as broke his gaze by turning to look out the window.

 

"Keiji was a setter on the same team as me! He's my best friend too." Tendou grinned as he wrapped his arms around Akaashi.

 

"Oh?" Suga said as he continued gazing at Akaashi.

 

"They have a very odd friendship but it works and I'm not one to judge." Oikawa said as Akaashi pulled out of Tendou's hug.

 

"Oho ho? What do we have here?" A voice called from the doorway and they turned to look.

 

" _FUCK."_  The five muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bro are we troublesome?" Bokuto asked.
> 
> "No! Of course not Bro! We are innocent angels!" Kuroo said as he grinned at his friend.
> 
> "BULLSHIT."

**CHAPTER 2:**

 

**_BOKUTO_ **

 

He was having a great day so far and couldn't a thing ruin it for him. He'd made to all of his classes on time and discovered he had friends in each of them. He even had his second class with his best Bro, Kuroo. Terushima also had the class with him and although they didn't know each other much, he didn't get a bad feeling from the guy. He bounced with excitement upon discovering his Bro and Teru had the same third class as him, ceramics. The three of them walked to the art building together and Bokuto let his thoughts wander to who else he might have ceramics class with. He hadn't seen or heard from Akaashi all day...actually he hadn't heard much from him for a while. When he called him the younger never answered the phone and he never replied to his messages. He felt as though he had lost his friend and that made him think that maybe he shouldn't have confessed to him that day. It's been almost three years since that day...

 

They walked into the art building and walked down the nearest staircase. Bokuto and Terushima glanced around as Kuroo lead the way to the classroom.

 

"Oho ho? What do we have here?" Kuroo called into the classroom and Bokuto peeked in over his shoulder. Akaashi, Sugawara, Tendou, Tsukishima, and Oikawa sat at a table in the back of the classroom.

 

"AKAAAAAASHI!!" Bokuto yelled as he wrapped his arms around Akaashi. He felt Akaashi stiffen in his arms and Tendou pulled him off of Akaashi.

 

"Don't do that." Tendou snapped and Bokuto stared at him. Oikawa pulled out his phone and started texting, Suga stared at Akaashi and Terushima laughed at Tsukishima and Kuroo arguing. Bokuto and the redhead used to be close but now they weren't and he didn't know why. One day they were laughing and goofing off together and the next the red-head kept an attitude with him. He thought it was odd at the same time as he felt sad. He missed his friend....he missed Akaashi too. He knew they were drifting further apart and that it was mostly his fault.

 

"Okay, dumbasses! Let's all play nice, hmm?" Oikawa said as he clapped his hands together. Everyone turned to look at him and he smirked.

 

"I was playing nice." Suga said earning him a glare from Oikawa.

 

" _Suga-chan._ " Oikawa warned.

 

"Yes?" Suga asked, making an innocent expression and Akaashi chuckled. Bokuto glanced down at him in shock. Akaashi barely reacted when it came to jokes or funny situations, so it was a surprise to hear him chuckling at something so simple. Bokuto glanced at Kuroo who was staring at Tsukishima, he knew very well the feelings his bro had for the tall blond and it was a bit sad seeing him pining for him still, but he couldn't say much since he was pining as well.

 

"Since you are most likely to be the least amount of trouble, I decree that you are allowed to sit in our presence, Teru-chan." Oikawa declared as several more students filed into the classroom.

 

"The fuck?" Kuroo stared at Oikawa.

 

"You truly act like a Grand King." Tsukishima smirked and Oikawa grinned at him.

 

"Bro......did we just get called troublesome?" Bokuto asked as he moved and draped an arm over Kuroo's shoulders. Bokuto was glad for the distraction from his thoughts, he wasn't quite sure where they were headed but he didn't want them to keep bouncing around.

 

"I believe we just did Bro." Kuroo answered as he wrapped an arm around his friends waist.

 

"Bro are we troublesome?" Bokuto asked as he squeezed his bro closer to him. He glanced at Akaashi and caught him rolling his eyes as he turned towards the window.

 

"No! Of course not Bro! We are innocent angels!" Kuroo said as he grinned at his friend.

 

"BULLSHIT." Oikawa, Tsukishima and Tendou snapped as they glared at the two and Suga and Terushima laughed. The professor walked in behind a few straggling students and he and Kuroo moved to sit at the empty table next to where the friends were sitting. As the professor started handing out his syllabus Noya and Lev came running into the classroom late. The professor glanced at them briefly before motioning for them to sit at the table with Kuroo and Bokuto.

 

"Oya~?" Kuroo smirked as Noya and Lev sat at their table.

 

"Oya oya~??" Bokuto grinned at the two.

 

"The seats you are sitting in now will be your seats for the semester so please refrain from switching. This is also how I'll be doing your attendance, if your seat is still empty fifteen minutes after class has started you will be marked absent." The Professor declared.

 

"Kuroo-san! I'm so glad we have class together!" Lev cheered and his eyes seemed to sparkle.

 

"Hey! What about me?!" Bokuto pouted and his three friends laughed.

 

"I got you Bokuto! Although we have several classes together this semester, I'm always glad to see you!" Noya grinned.

 

"Yeah Brokuto! Who isn't glad to see you?!" Kuroo laughed and stopped when he saw Bokuto wince.

 

 _'I can think of two people who aren't_.' He thought before shaking his head and smiling at his bro.

 

"You all will also need to choose who you will share a locker and tools with and whomever you share a locker with will also be the person you will work with during group projects. SO choose wisely." The professor said as he glanced around at the students.

 

"Sorry Bokuto-san..." Lev mumbled and Bokuto grinned at the younger male.

 

"It's all good!" He laughed.

 

"Well we're not going to officially start anything until next Monday. Wednesday you'll be getting your lockers and tools. Friday I'll give you a tour of this floor and direct you to where everything is. So we'll be getting out of class early this week...actually that's all I had to say for today. Make sure you have your partners decided before class starts on Wednesday. I'll see you all then." The professor says before walking out of the classroom.

 

"Well okay then..." Kuroo arched an eyebrow.

 

"Oh! Let's go talk to Suga-san's table and see how we should partner up!" Noya exclaimed as he jumped out of his chair.

 

"Soooo how should we partner up?" Terushima asked as Bokuto, Kuroo, Noya and Lev walked over to their table.

 

"Now don't all flock to me begging to be my partner! Only one can be it!" Oikawa said as he struck a dramatic pose and of course he was ignored.

 

"Hey Akaashi - " Bokuto started but Kuroo cut him off.

 

"Sorry Bro but I think you're going to have to partner with me."

 

"Why?" Bokuto turned at stared at Kuroo and his bro grinned at him before saying:

 

"We're Bros!"

 

Bokuto stared at his friend before nodding his head. He loved his bro but he really wanted to fix his friendship with Akaashi but Kuroo was acting weird right now so he went along with it.

 

"I can't partner with Keiji either. He'll end me and I the wonderful Tendou Satori will cease to exist!" Tendou sighed dramatically and Akaashi nodded his head.

 

"I can't be partnered with you either." Tsukishima said, rolling his eyes.

 

"True. We argue to the point that words could  _kill._ " Tendou replied as he grinned at Tsukishima.

 

"I think Tendou should partner with Teru-chan." Oikawa stated.

 

"Yeah I agree, and Lev and Noya should be fine partnered up." Kuroo nodded.

 

"Yay! I'm partnered with Noya-Senpai!" Lev cheered and Noya grinned at him.

 

"I'm going to partner with  _Tsukki_." Oikawa said as he flashed a sly grin at Suga.

 

"Huh? I thought you'd partner with me?" Suga asked. Bokuto watched Kuroo glance between the two setters but didn't question it.

 

"Well if you look at it the groups are balanced. Noya and Lev together means their work won't be all cats..." Oikawa started as he looked at Lev.

 

"...Kuroo and Bokuto together will result in an abomination of course but they'll turn it into a  _'Bro'_..." Oikawa continued as he turned his attention to the two.

 

"...Tendou and Teru-chan together will result in their work not being creepy as fuck or manga characters because we all know that's what Sato-chan was planning..." Oikawa said as he looked to Tendou.

 

"...Tsukki and I together means our work will be balanced simply because we're opposites......to an extent..." Oikawa continued as he smirked at Tsukishima.

 

"...and you being partnered with Keiji will be a balance because you're far more outgoing than he is, so another case of the opposites." Oikawa finished as he grinned at Suga.

 

"Well damn..." Kuroo huffed as he scratched his neck.

 

"I feel like I should be offended..." Bokuto pouted.

 

"I feel like I should be worried about Tendou's plans..." Terushima frowned and the redhead cackled as he waggled his eyebrows.

 

"Olololo~? Is someone scared?" Tendou smirked.

 

"Well......what you said does make sense, Oikawa." Suga said.

 

"Soooo lunch?" Noya asked as he watched several students begin to leave. Akaashi immediately stood, picked up his book bag and walked out of the room.

 

"I guess we're getting lunch now." Kuroo grinned and they all grabbed their bags and shuffled out after Akaashi.

 

Bokuto walked with Kuroo, Noya, Lev and Terushima as they headed to lunch. Bokuto and Lev were arguing over who could eat the most, Terushima flirted and waved to people they walked passed, Noya was on his phone texting and Kuroo was laughing at Bokuto and Lev. The group walked to the student center that housed the main dining hall, information desk and bookstore. The main dining was the entire second floor of the student center. As soon as they walked into the dining hall Bokuto raced his four friends to collect food. The last thing on his mind was finding a table to sit at.

 

Bokuto and Kuroo both carried trays full of food as they walked to where the tables were.

 

"Shit, there's only two seats left at Tsukki's table!" Kuroo said. As soon as he uttered those words Bokuto spotted Noya and Tanaka walking several feet in front of them. The two turned back to look at them and Tanaka grinned menacingly.

 

"Race ya!" Tanaka shouted as he and Noya sprinted towards the table.

 

"Damn!" Kuroo exclaimed and he and Bokuto ran after the two. Because of their head start, Noya and Tanaka reached the table first and quickly placed their food on table and sat in the last two chairs.

 

"Dammit!" Kuroo huffed before turning around and sitting next to Daichi at a nearby table.

 

"I wanted to sit at a table with  _Akaashi~_ " Bokuto whined.

 

"Well you're shit outta luck." Tsukishima replied and Yaku glared at him.

 

"We have dominated these seats!" Tanaka declared before stuffing fries into his mouth.

 

"Dominance!" Noya shouts.

 

"Koutarou just go sit with Kuroo and Sawamura." Yaku said as he waved to their table.

 

"Bro! Join us!" Kuroo yelled and Bokuto dejectedly headed towards the table.

 

"Bye Bo-chan!" Oikawa called with a wave.

 

"Oikawa don't be an ass." Iwaizumi snapped.

 

When Bokuto arrived at Daichi's table he saw Kuroo sitting between Lev and Daichi, so he settled for sitting in the seat next to Daichi.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Be careful next time you use your hair products..."

**CHAPTER 3:**

 

**_AKAASHI_ **

 

"I coulda given him my seat." Terushima said.

 

"And you would've been dragged back into said seat." Tendou and Kenma replied.

 

"Okay...nevermind then." Terushima replied.

 

"Good decision." Oikawa grinned and Iwaizumi threw a strawberry at him.

 

Akaashi quietly ate his lunch and watched as his friends talked loudly and excitedly as they ate their lunch. He tuned out the noise and let his thoughts wander to the math class he had after lunch. He was far from thrilled about it, he did okay in math but despised the subject. He and Tendou also have math class together and the red-head was surprisingly good at math. If he ever needed help he could just ask him...if they stayed focused long enough. He glanced down as Kenma swiped an apple slice off his plate and he smiled at the blond.

 

**_SUGAWARA_ **

 

Suga glanced over at Akaashi and froze, the black-haired man was smiling at Kenma. It was a slight smile but one could tell that it was full of fondness. His eyes held very little emotion and what was shown was an odd softness. Upon meeting Akaashi, Suga had noticed that the man showed little to no expressions. In fact he usually had a very emotionless look on his face, making him seem cold and bored. But the look on his face now, although barely there, showed that the man couldn't be either. Suga felt someone watching him and looked over to see both Tendou and Oikawa watching. The first with a curious look and the latter with a grin. He averted his eyes and turned his attention back to Yaku who was complaining about something Lev said to him in his class that morning.

 

"-that fucker! I can't believe him!" Yaku growled.

 

Suga sighed..."Yaku...everyone knows you have a soft spot for the giant child...you always forgive him at the end of the day."

 

"I do not! He pisses me off!" Yaku snapped.

 

"Oh? You sure about that?" Suga grinned.

 

"Dammit Koushi!"

 

"You love me." Suga said and stuck out his tongue.

 

"Whatever." Yaku chuckled.

 

"Keiji what's your next class?" Kenma asked and several people at the table turned towards the two.

 

"Math 120...Tendou will be in the class too." Akaashi answered.

 

"Oh! Suga-chan and I will be in that class too!" Oikawa grinned.

 

"Me too." Iwaizumi said.

 

"Really? I'm taking that class too!" Yaku grinned.

 

"Hmmm...I'll be there as well." Kenma said before returning his attention to his video game.

 

"We should probably head there now then." Tsukishima said as he stood. Everyone nodded their heads, grabbed their book bags and cleared the table. The group left the dining hall and headed across campus to the Math and Sciences building. They found their classroom on the main floor and discovered that it was a lecture hall. The lecture hall had six rows of seats heading up to the back of the classroom. Suga sat in the very back row next to the window, Yaku sat next to him, Iwaizumi sat next to Yaku and Oikawa sat next to Iwaizumi. Kenma moved to the row in front of theirs and sat next to the window, Akaashi sat next to him, Tendou sat next to Akaashi and Tsukishima sat next to Tendou. Just as they finished sitting down Bokuto, Kuroo, Daichi, Matsukawa, Hanamaki and Semi walk into the classroom.

 

" _DAMMIT."_  Yaku, Tendou, Kenma and Tsukishima muttered. Kuroo sat in the seat in front of Kenma's, Bokuto sat next to him, Daichi sat next to Bokuto and Semi sat next to Daichi. Matsukawa and Hanamaki sat in the back row next to Oikawa. Suga watched as Akaashi turned in his seat to face Yaku.

 

"Yaku... _PLEASE_ switch seats with me?" Akaashi asked just as Bokuto turned to say something. Akaashi's face was expressionless but his voice gave away the annoyance he was feeling. Yaku grinned and nodded his head.

 

"Sure! I don't mind." Yaku said and the two moved to switch seats. Kenma turned to look at Iwaizumi who looked down at him and smiled.

 

"I'll switch with you Kenma." Iwaizumi said as he stood. Kenma nodded and smiled at him before moving to switch seats with him. Suga quickly pulled out his phone to text Tooru.

 

**_Me:_ **

_TOORU!!!!!_

_WHAT DO I DO?????_

_HE'S SITTING NEXT TO ME!_

 

**_Tooru:_ **

_LUCKY~~~_

_YOU'LL BE FINE!_

 

**_Me:_ **

_I CAN'T DO IT!!!_

 

**_Me:_ **

_SWITCH WITH ME!!!!!_

 

**_Tooru:_ **

_NO CAN DO~~~~_

 

**_Tooru:_ **

_It's the perfect chance for the two of you to get closer!_

 

**_Tooru:_ **

_YOU MUST ACCEPT THIS QUEST!_

 

**_Me:_ **

_OIKAWA. SWITCH. WITH. ME._

 

**_Tooru:_ **

_NEEEEVEEEER!!!!_

 

**_Me:_ **

_I'll get you back for this!_

 

**_Tooru:_ **

_YOU'LL THANK ME FOR THIS!_

 

**_Me:_ **

_OIKAWA!_

 

**_Tooru:_ **

_YOU LOVE ME!_

 

**_Me:_ **

_FUCK YOU!_

 

**_Tooru:_ **

_Thank you for the offer but sadly...I'll have to decline. You can ask Akaashi though!_

 

**_Me:_ **

_Be careful next time you use your hair products..._

 

Suga smirked at his phone before putting it on silent. He watched as he got several notifications informing him that Tooru sent several messages. He looked up from his phone and caught Akaashi with his right arm propped up and his chin resting on his hand while staring at him. He stared back at him for a second before smiling sweetly.

 

"Hi..." Akaashi quietly said as he continued to stare at him.

 

"Hey." Suga replied just as quietly as he stared back. Akaashi gave him a small smile before dropping his arm and turning his attention to Kenma. Suga looked out the window and let out a nervous sigh. He hadn't expected Akaashi to be staring at him but he was glad for it. They've had classes together before but never interacted with each other because he was too nervous to approach him. Akaashi was very mysterious anyway....mysterious and attractive...like **_HOLY SHIT_ **. He always had an expressionless face and when he spoke - which was rare - he usually sounded bored. Now that he thought about it...today was also the first time he actual got a good look at Akaashi. From sitting next to him he realized he was really tall and lean and from a distance one couldn't tell that he also had an athletic build. His hair was long and black and looked as though he'd just ran his fingers through it. His eyes were a bluish-gray and he had a attractive face with flawless looking skin.

 

**_BOKUTO_ **

 

When they arrived at the classroom, they saw that they weren't the first ones there. The lecture hall had six rows of seats heading up to the back of the classroom. Suga sat in the very back row next to the window, Yaku sat next to him, Iwaizumi sat next to Yaku and Oikawa sat next to Iwaizumi. Kenma sat by the window in the seat in front of Suga's, Akaashi was sitting next to him, Tendou was sitting next to Akaashi and Tsukishima was sitting next to Tendou. When the seated group spotted them, their faces clearly showed how displeased they were about having class with the group standing in the doorway.

 

"Oh this is just _wonderful_." Matsukawa grinned.

 

"Darling it's _delightful._ " Hanamaki chuckled.

 

"Hiiii _Tsukki~_ " Kuroo practically purred as he wiggled his fingers at the tall blond.

 

"Fuck my fucking life." Semi groaned and Bokuto nodded his head in agreement and from the look on Daichi's face he agreed as well. Daichi usually had a relaxed expression or a gentle smile on his face. Bokuto has never seen the man with a scowl on his face until now. Kuroo has told him about Daichi's scowling and other scary facial expressions but in the years they’ve known each other Bokuto has yet to see them. Bokuto quietly observed the man as he followed him into the classroom. Kuroo claimed the seat in front of Kenma, Daichi shifted to the side and motioned for Bokuto to sit next to Kuroo and after he sat down Daichi claimed the seat next to his, and Semi sat to Daichi. Bokuto watched as Matsukawa and Hanamaki walked passed their row to sit in two of the three remaining seats in the back row next to Oikawa. They left the seat next to Oikawa empty, knowing that Oikawa would need it for his leg at some point. When Bokuto turned his attention to Akaashi the younger male had his back to him and was talking to Yaku.

 

"Yaku... _PLEASE_ switch seats with me?" Akaashi asked and Bokuto frowned slightly. The younger man has been obviously avoiding him and Bokuto desperately just wanted to talk to him. He wanted to apologize to Akaashi for what he’d done, even if he was never forgiven. He knew that Akaashi wasn't very open about most things but he also knew that Akaashi wasn't afraid to speak his mind when the situation called for it. He was pulled from his thoughts when Akaashi stood and switched seats with Yaku and a few seconds later Kenma was switching seats with Iwaizumi. He gazed after the man hoping to catch his attention but it was obvious that Akaashi wasn't going to look at him.

 

Bokuto looked away and just let his mind wander as he zoned out. He was really starting to regret his actions from the last few years especially if this is how things were going to turn out. He'd lost his two closest friends and he hated that......hated it with a passion and he wanted them back. Akaashi avoiding him is one thing...but Satori avoiding him just hurts. Bokuto was faintly aware of someone poking his cheeks but he was too absorbed in his thoughts to respond. He looked up again at Akaashi but instead was met with Suga looking at him and he quickly looked away. He was now aware of Kuroo poking his cheeks and Daichi had poked his stomach. He looked over at Daichi who had a worried look on his face before Kuroo wrapped an around Bokuto's shoulders. Bokuto looked over at Kuroo who was smiling but his eyes looked worried.

 

"Broooo....where were you?" Kuroo asked.

 

"Huh?" Bokuto frowned.

 

"You were zoned out, we called you for a bit but you weren't paying attention. I even poked your cheeks!" Kuroo pouted and Daichi laid a hand on Bokuto's arm.

 

**_SAWAMURA_ **

 

Daichi placed a hand on Bokuto's arm but before he could say anything Kuroo wrapped his other arm around Bokuto and pulled him into a hug. Daichi sighed and looked around the room, he froze when he spotted Suga staring at him. His silver-haired friend grinned at him and he nodded his head in reply and looked away. He knew exactly what that grin meant......he wasn't going to get away from this classroom without talking to Suga. And if he did manage to get away he was going to be hunted down. Daichi felt a tugging on his wrist and looked to see Bokuto tugging on his wrist and most of his face hidden by Kuroo's arms.

 

"Broooo!" Kuroo whined as he tried to tug Bokuto closer to him.

 

"Kuroo-san, I swear if you don't stop that whining I'm going to push you through that window." Tsukishima threatened.

 

"We really need to work on your violent tendencies." Iwaizumi sighed.

 

"You know damn well he deserves it..." Tsukishima deadpanned and Iwaizumi laughed...

 

"True."

 

Bokuto's grip tightened on Daichi's wrist and Daichi saw that he was barely on his seat. Daichi sighed, wrapped both his arms around Bokuto's middle and tugged him out of Kuroo's grip and back into his seat.

 

"Dammit Daichi! I forgot you were stronger than me!" Kuroo pouted and Daichi shot him a grin before turning his attention to Bokuto.

 

"Are you okay?" Daichi asked Bokuto and he tilted his head and blinked golden eyes at him.

 

"Uh yeah?" Bokuto replied with a slight frown.

 

"You sure?" Daichi frowned and Bokuto nodded his head and flashed him a grin.

 

"I'm fine!" Bokuto exclaimed.

 

"Bokuto I can tell you're not. Let me know if you need someone to talk to and I'll gladly lend an ear." Daichi said softly and Bokuto nodded his head just before the professor walked into the room and began class. The professor began class by stating that she wasn't going to assign any classwork or homework today and Daichi let himself zone out. He wondered what was really bothering Bokuto, his friend was usually loud and hyper all day but today he was quieter than usual. When he did smile or was hyper Daichi could tell it was a bit forced. He only knew a bit of what may be wrong with Bokuto, thanks to Kuroo...but even Kuroo only knew so much. Bokuto was surprisingly tight-lipped when it came to secrets or things that could actually bother him. Knowing that Kuroo was frustrated with trying to figure out what was wrong with his best friend only made Daichi worry more.

 

**_BOKUTO_ **

 

He had managed to escape quickly after class. He didn't want Daichi to question him further and he didn't want to be dragged into another break down. He sometimes hated how quickly his mood could change but there are instances when he likes his mood changes. Sometimes they made him feel like shit and other times they made him feel like he was dominating the world. Right now he was feeling okay, neither in a shitty mood or a dominating mood but he could feel himself walking the border of being in a shitty mood. He walked quickly up the hall and out of the building and took a deep breath but he couldn't bring himself to slow his pace. He could faintly hear someone yelling behind him but he was to busy lost in his head trying to calm down.

 

"Bro!"

 

"Brokuto!"

 

"Broooo!"

 

"BRO!"

 

"BROKUTO!"

 

"BOKUTO!"

 

"GOD DAMMIT KOUTAROU! STOP FUCKING WALKING!" The voice yelled. Bokuto stopped walking as he realized that it was Kuroo yelling at him. His sudden halt caused Kuroo to slam into his back before grabbing onto him to steady himself. He shifted to look at his friend and saw that Kuroo was bent over and breathing heavy. He glanced around and saw that in his panic he had managed to arrive back at the dining hall.

 

"Why'd you run off like that Bo?" Kuroo asked as he stood and let go of him.

 

"No reason." Bokuto shook his head.

 

"Bullshit Bo, you took off as if you were avoiding someone."

 

"I wasn't avoiding anyone." Bokuto replied. Lie. Another lie. He'd told so many lies to his best friend that he wasn't sure why Kuroo still hung with him, especially since Kuroo was always aware of when he was lying. It isn't like he wanted to tell the lies, he just wanted to be left alone about the things he didn't want to think or talk about.

 

"Again, Bullshit." Kuroo frowned.

 

"Leave it alone Kuroo." Bokuto snapped and his friend stared at him. Bokuto sighed and looked down...

 

"Sorry."

 

"It's fine, but you gotta talk about it soon. Holding it in isn't good bro." Kuroo replied.

 

"I know." Bokuto nodded and his thoughts wandered to Daichi's offer. Maybe he should take his offer, it couldn't hurt and he knew Daichi was pretty cool. The volleyball captain was always looking out for the team and his friends. Bokuto knew he could be a handful with his mood swings and antics but Daichi still stuck around as a close friend. Bokuto didn't understand why his friends were still his friends, especially considering that he had lost his three best friends that he'd known longer than any of his current friends. He sighed...well there went his good mood.

 

"Bro, we headed back home before practice?" Kuroo asked.

 

"Yeah, my gym bag is there." Bokuto nodded.

 

"What are we doing for dinner?" Kuroo asked as they started walking. They were staying in a student house with their other roommate, Yahaba, and the house was only a fifteen minute walk from the sports complex. All of the houses near the sports complex were reserved for members of sports teams and sports clubs.

 

"We don't have practice until four, so there's time to start something if Shigeru hasn't." Bokuto answered.

 

"Well class let out at two, so we have about an hour and a half before we need to head to practice." Kuroo said as he glanced at the time on his phone and Bokuto hummed in response.

 

"Bo are you sure you're okay?" Kuroo frowned and Bokuto sighed.

 

"I'll talk to someone soon. They've already offered so I might take them up on it."

 

"Who?" Kuroo frowned.

 

"Bro, I'll be fine." Bokuto said, dodging the question. He didn't want to tell Kuroo about Daichi's offer. His bro would be offended, especially since they're best friends. He hadn't told Kuroo much of what actually happened between his friends from high school and he would but he knew Kuroo would tell him it was his fault. Which he knew he wouldn't mind hearing but he also knew that Kuroo would then come up with a crazy shenanigan to try and repair the relationship with his friends and that isn't what he wanted. If he spoke to Daichi then he'd most likely get a comforting response and a sane suggestion as to what to do......but talking to Daichi meant he had to open up to him.

 

His thoughts paused as he realized that he couldn't really avoid Daichi since they were both on the volleyball team. And he couldn't exactly skip practice...he was a starter and the coach would get mad......his house happened to be next door to Daichi's so he wouldn't be able to hide from or avoid him...and then there was the fact that he actually loved playing volleyball and would get angry at himself for skipping and then he'd get depressed because he missed practice. He sighed again and Kuroo jerked his head towards him.

 

"What's up?" Kuroo asked.

 

"Just thinking." Bokuto shook his head.

 

"Abooouuut?"

 

"Practice."

 

"What about it?"

 

"I thought about what would happened if I skipped practice."

 

" **_YOU_ ** want to skip practice?"

 

"I **_WANT_ ** to go to practice, but I was wondering what would happen if I skip."

 

"Nothing good. I mean coach would be heated and literally **_both_ ** the captains live next door to us and they're scary, soooo..."

 

"I know."

 

"And you've never skipped before."

 

" _I KNOW."_

 

"And I don't think you would be happy with skipping."

 

" _I KNOW THAT KUROO._ "

 

"Ehhhh? Do you?" Kuroo smirked.

 

"Bro."

 

"Bro."

 

" _BRO."_

 

_"BRO."_

 

 _"_ **_BRO_ **."

 

" **_BRO_ **." Bokuto chuckled and Kuroo flashed a grin at him.

 

"Soooo so shall we go figure out dinner?" Bokuto asked as he wrapped an arm around Kuroos shoulders.

 

"Hell yeah!"

 

**_SAWAMURA_ **

 

Class flew by quickly and before Daichi could talk to Bokuto again, his friend practically ran out of the classroom with Kuroo following close behind him. Daichi sighed and slowly to walked out of the lecture hall to wait for Suga. He checked his phone for text messages only to discover that he has over fifty notifications from the group chats he's in...unfortunately. He sighed and slipped his phone back into his pocket and smiled when Suga walked out of the classroom looking around.

 

"Over here, Suga." Daichi called and the silver-haired man whirled around to look at him.

 

"Daichi! How are you?" Suga grinned as he rushed over and pulled him into a hug.

 

"I'm fine. How are you?" Daichi chuckled as he returned the hug.

 

"I'm wonderful! How come you didn't contact me this summer?" Suga demanded as he pulled out of the hug and threw a punch to Daichi's stomach. Daichi winced and sighed before answering his friend...

 

"I was busy this summer! And hey, you could've contacted me too!"

 

"I couldn't as well. It was a long summer...thanks to my roommates." Suga huffed.

 

"Oh yeah...you moved into a house...who'd you choose as your roommates?" Daichi asked as the two of them began heading out of the building.

 

"Oikawa, Yaku and Tsukishima!"

 

"That can't be good..."

 

"Oh no! They surprisingly get along well...I mean Tooru and Kei can be very provocative and snarky. The only difference is that Tooru does it in a flirtatious way whereas Kei does it in an antagonistic way. Either way I swear they're both overgrown children! Yaku's pretty cool though."

 

"That's good then." Daichi chuckled.

 

"How about your roommates, Dai?"

 

"Well my roommates are Hajime and Kaname, so it's pretty cool..." Daichi said as he followed Suga to wherever he was headed.

 

"But?"

 

"Our neighbors are Kuroo, Bokuto and Yahaba."

 

"Oh God...you poor soul... Well......good luck with that!"

 

"Thanks Suga..."

 

"Soooo..."

 

"Yes?"

 

"You should already know what I'm going to ask Daichi."

 

"You should already know that you have to ask Koushi."

 

"You ass......so what's up with Bokuto?"

 

"Nothing?" Daichi frowned and Suga sighed.

 

"What's your relationship with the giant owl?"

 

"We're friends and he's not an owl."

 

"I highly doubt your feelings towards him are _'just friends'_ Daichi."

 

"Leave it be, Suga."

 

"But I wanna _heeeelp._ I _NEED_ to."

 

"No.......besides he already has feelings for someone else."

 

"Oh really? Who?"

 

"You don't know?"

 

"If I knew I wouldn't have asked."

 

"Hell almost everyone knows, I doubt Bokuto is aware of how many know though."

 

"Really? Wow."

 

"Yeah..."

 

"Daichi. Who?"

 

"Akaashi......" Daichi huffed.

 

"Oh shit...damn..."

 

"Yeeeaaahhh...."

 

"And how does Akaashi feel about this?"

 

"No one knows......he hasn't said anything about it, he's been avoiding the topic and Bokuto for the last three years." Daichi sighed.

 

"Are you serious?"

 

"Yeah..."

 

"Damn....does anyone know why he's avoiding him?"

 

"No, I doubt it. If anyone knows anything about the whole situation it would be Tendou......and probably Kenma. The three of them are pretty tight-lipped though. Tsukishima and Oikawa might know since they're pretty close to the trio."

 

"Hmmm...."

 

"And according to Kuroo, Bokuto has gotten quieter and has been a bit off the last year or so.... It's becoming noticeable to the volleyball team too."

 

"Sooo why don't you step in?" Suga said as they stopped outside the library.

 

"Huh?"

 

"You know...get closer to him...befriend the owl...be his tree branch to sit on." Suga replied with a smirk.

 

"Very funny Suga, very funny..." Daichi frowned and Suga chuckled.

 

"Daichi, just be there for him and maybe he'll open up to you. Hell if it's been three years then maybe his feelings towards Akaashi aren't the same as back then."

 

"I've been trying. I told him earlier that I'd lend him an ear when he needed to talk." Daichi sighed.

 

"Good, maybe mention it once more and just wait it out... He'll come around eventually." Suga smiled and Daichi nodded his head.

 

"I hope so... I mean even if he doesn't like me back I still want to help him out, you know?"

 

"Yeah I know... Don't worry too much about it, everything will workout eventually."

 

"Yeah, you're right Suga."

 

"Of course I am."

 

"Okay now you're being an ass."

 

"No I'm not, have you not met my roommates?"

 

"You're the ringleader, they're following in your footsteps." Daichi glared and Suga laughed.

 

"True... Well, I gotta go Daichi. I have to enter the realm that is the library and become one with the books." Suga said as he waved to Daichi and disappeared into the library. Daichi shook his head and headed to the dining hall, he might as well get a light snack and relax before practice starts.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Your embarrassment leads to your suffering...I rather enjoy watching it."

**CHAPTER 4:**

 

**_AKAASHI_ **

 

Akaashi hadn't meant to stare at him but when he turned to apologize for having switched seats with Yaku, Suga was smirking down at his phone. He hadn't seen the silver-haired on campus before, but that was probably because Akaashi was so fed up with people that he didn't pay attention to anyone that wasn't a close friend. He watched Suga smirk down at his phone before looking up at staring back at Akaashi and when he smiled he couldn't help but think that he was cute. Suga was shorter than him and lean too, he had a rather round face with warm brown eyes and a black mole near his left eye. From watching him interact with the others, Akaashi could tell that he was very kind and gentle but could be stubborn and even sassy. Akaashi smiled back at Suga before turning his attention to Kenma who was poking him in the side.

 

"Stop staring at him Keiji." Kenma mumbled.

 

"I wasn't." Akaashi whispered back.

 

"Liar. Am I coming over today?" Kenma asked quietly.

 

 

"Yeah, if you want. I believe Satori is coming over too." Akaashi shrugged.

 

"Hmmm....Do you work tonight?" Kenma asked.

 

"No, not until Wednesday. Why?" Akaashi asked.

 

"I'm going to help out too." Kenma answered in a tone that said he wasn't changing his mind.

 

"That's fine. Are you done for the day after this?" Akaashi asked.

 

"Yeah, thank god..." Kenma sighed and Akaashi chuckled.

 

"Alright everyone! Let's begin class!" The professor yelled as she started up a PowerPoint presentation.

 

After class Akaashi packed up his stuff and walked out of the classroom with Kenma and Satori after waving goodbye to Suga and the others. He was glad to be done for today and even happier that he wasn't assigned any homework today. He had a painting he wanted to finish today and a playlist and costume to finish for Wednesday night. He looked around as he walked between Satori and Kenma before looking up at the sky and smiling slightly.

 

"Wasn't a bad day, huh Keiji?" Satori asked with a grin as he looked at his friend.

 

"So far..." Akaashi chuckled.

 

"Keiji do you have snacks at your place?" Kenma asked as he started playing a game on his phone.

 

"Yeah, I made apple pie last night and there's ice-cream in the freezer. I have other snacks too and we can order something for dinner." Akaashi answered.

 

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" Satori asked as he wrapped an arm around Akaashi's shoulders.

 

"You are truly wonderful Keiji." Kenma said with a smile.

 

Akaashi chuckled again and led his friends to the train station so that they could go to his apartment. After the twenty minute ride on the train they had about a ten minute walk to his apartment. During the trip Satori talked about who he encountered in his first two classes for the day and what he thought about the classes so far. They took the elevator to the third floor of the apartment and they stopped in front of apartment 305 at the end of the hall. Akaashi pulled out his keys and unlocked the door, once it was open he led them inside and dropped his keys, wallet and earbuds on the small table in the entrance way.

 

"I feel like I haven't been here in forever!" Satori exclaimed as plopped down on the couch in the living room. Kenma moved to the TV stand opened the doors to turn the TV on. He then sat on the floor, opened the bottom doors and started looking through the video games.

 

"Satori help me move the paintings." Keiji said as he placed his book bag under the table in the entrance way.

 

"Sure! Are there any I should leave out?" Satori asked as he stood.

 

"No, the two I'm working on are in my bedroom. The others can be moved into the art room." Keiji answered as he moved to open the door to the extra bedroom.

 

"Oh...okay...Keiji are all of these paintings out here completed?" Satori asked as he picked one of them up and carried it into the art room.

 

"Yeah, why?" Keiji asked as he grabbed two and carried them into the art room.

 

"How many are there?" Kenma asked as he glanced around the room at the paintings.

 

"Sixteen." Keiji answered as he walked back into the room.

 

"When did you do these?" Satori asked as he carried two into the art room.

 

"This summer." Keiji answered as he carried two more into the art room and Satori walked back into the living room.

 

"You started and completed these this summer?" Kenma asked as he stood and picked one up.

 

"Yeah...." Keiji shrugged as he came back into the living room and Satori carried two into the art room. Kenma stared at Keiji before carrying the one he was holding into the art room. They finished placing all the paintings in the art room and Akaashi grabbed the two he was working on from his room and set them up in the living room. Satori sat back down on the couch and Kenma sat on the floor between the couch and coffee table. Ignoring Satori and Kenma staring at him, he grabbed some paints and brushes from the drawer on the table next to the couch and sat them on top of the table. He walked back to his room and grab his laptop and set it up on the coffee table. Once he settled onto the couch he finally looked to his friends.

 

"What?" Keiji asked.

 

"You know what." Satori answered.

 

"What happened?" Kenma asked softly and Keiji shrugged.

 

" _Keijiiii~_ " Satori sang as he grabbed Keiji's left hand.

 

"My mom came and visited for the first and last time." Keiji said. He really didn't want to talk about this, it hurt thinking about it and talking about it would bring back the memories. He hadn't told any of his friends yet and he knew he needed to tell someone so that it wouldn't be so hard on him.

 

"That's great!" Satori smiled.

 

"Last?" Kenma asked as he tilted his head.

 

"Kenma?" Satori asked as he looked down at the blond.

 

"He said 'last time'. why is it the last time Keiji?" Kenma asked as he scooted closer to Keiji.

 

"Oh. He does usually visit her. She's never visited him before because she was too sick to do so." Satori nodded his head.

 

"I-It was a long summer..." Keiji started... "...and a sad one too." He finished.

 

"Tell us what happened." Kenma said softly as he placed his right hand on top of their clasped hands.

 

"I've never felt so....alone..." Keiji whispered.

 

"Keiji..." Satori mumbled as he frowned slightly at the sad tone of his friends voice.

 

"She.......she's gone..." Keiji mumbled as tears filled his eyes and his friends froze.

 

"What do you mean she's gone?" Satori asked quietly.

 

"S-s-she died....this past summer...." Keiji whispered as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

 

"W-what? H-how?" Satori asked.

 

"When?" Kenma asked softly.

 

"June..." Keiji answered softly.

 

"Tell us what happened." Satori said softly as he pulled his friend closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

 

"Take your time though..." Kenma said as he climbed onto the couch and sat on the other side of Keiji before wrapping his arms around his waist.

 

Keiji wasn't a fan of being touched but he knew his friends were going to do it anyway and he knew they really needed to do it right now. He also felt that their touches were really comforting right now. He was borderline on breaking down, barely hanging on and their closeness was keeping him from falling off the edge. He'd been holding strong for the last two months, just barely though and he sometimes found himself just wanting to throw himself over the edge. But...he couldn't...he promised her he wouldn't...promised her he'd talk to someone once it got to be too much or when they finally noticed and asked...and they had asked...thankfully they had asked.

 

"Keiji." Kenma called softly as he laid his head on his shoulder.

 

"Talk to us." Satori said as he sat his chin on top of his head. Keiji nodded his head and inhaled quickly as he tried to calm down.

 

"She was doing well and the doctors said so as well...even though they couldn't figure out what was wrong. That's how she was able to come see me graduate high school but it wasn't even a week after I graduated that she ended up back in the hospital. Which you know already......but her stay became permanent because her health continued to decline. Which is why whenever we went to visit her she was in the hospital. Her body couldn't handle leaving and she was weak most of the time. She..." Keiji paused and took a deep breath.

 

"Continue when you're ready." Satori said.

 

"We'll wait." Kenma agreed.

 

Keiji sighed and continued..." She never got any better, she either slowly got worse or quickly got worse and the doctors still couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. I visited her as much as possible and I did little things for her, like buying her sweets and flowers or bringing my laptop and watching a movie with her or just sitting and talking to her. There were days where she couldn't move and days where she could but she tried her best to ignore the pain and told me to keep her busy so that she was happy. I didn't mind because you know...she's my mom, I always wanted her happy."

 

"Do you want anything to drink?" Satori asked when he stopped talking and Keiji nodded his head.

 

"What do you want?" Kenma asked as Satori stood up.

 

"Anything's fine...maybe water or lemonade....both are in the fridge." Keiji mumbled as he rested his head on the back of the couch. Satori went to get them something to drink and Kenma hugged Keiji tighter. When Satori came back he was carrying a cup of lemonade for everyone and carefully placed them on the coffee table. Both Keiji and Kenma reached for one and slowly began drinking it. After drinking some, Keiji placed the cup back on the table and leaned back on the couch. Kenma and Satori wrapped their arms back around him after sitting their cups on the table.

 

"Better?" Satori asked and Keiji nodded his head.

 

"That's good." Kenma sighed.

 

"She always smiled and laughed when I was there with her and I could tell that it was forced sometimes. Her health took a turn for the worse in March and the doctors said she might not live much longer, but still she smiled and laughed and talked as though all was okay. At some point in April she told me she wanted to visit my home and spend a week living with me and at first I was against but I caved eventually because it's what she wanted. So we made plans for her to come stay with me the week after finals last semester. When she came to visit the doctor gave me her medicines she had to take and gave me their number in case of an emergency. She was so excited and we had a lot of fun when she stayed with me." Keiji stopped to catch his breath again and wiped the newly fallen tears off his face. Satori and Kenma quietly waited for him to start talking again.

 

"After the week was up I took her back to the hospital and the doctors were surprised that she hadn't gotten worse. She was able to walk around the hospital and take walks in the gardens but that didn't last long. Maybe a week after she'd been back at the hospital her health declined again and she wasn't able to leave her bed. S-s-she could barely t-t-talk and sometimes she c-couldn't even keep her eyes open. She s-s-said she wasn't in p-pain but the doctors couldn't figure out what was w-wrong. I spent my time in the hospital with her up until-" Keiji stopped as his tears fell and he started to sob. His friends hugged him tight and waited for him to calm down again. When he stopped sobbing and got control of his breathing Satori stood and grabbed the box of tissues from the bathroom. He held the box out to Kenma who took a few tissues and wiped off Keiji's face.

 

"Thank you." Keiji mumbled and Satori and Kenma smiled at him.

 

"You can wait to tell the rest if you want..." Satori suggested.

 

"No...no, I'll tell it now. If I don't I won't be able to later." Keiji sighed.

 

"Okay...continue when you're ready." Kenma nodded and Keiji smiled slightly. Satori and Kenma returned to hugging and he relaxed in their arms.

 

"I stayed with her up until when she passed away. She passed away in her sleep the night of June sixth. I knew it was coming but...it still hurt. I think she knew it was coming because before she went to sleep she told me she loved me and that she was proud of me for being strong and how happy she was that I was continuing in her footsteps. She smiled and laughed and talked to me for a bit before she fell asleep with a smile on her face. A-after..." Keiji paused and took a deep breath.

 

"After she passed the doctor handed me two letters that she'd written. The first told me to contact the lawyer in charge of her will and the other was a personal letter that I don't want to talk about now. So after contacting the lawyer, I met with him and we went over my mothers will and funeral plans. She left letters for several others, including the two of you. The lawyer also explained that my mother had already taken care of her house and possessions as well as her funds. She'd already set up her funeral plans too and all I had to do was sign paperwork and let everything go from there. The funeral was shortly after her death and it was pretty small. Mainly people from her job were invited as well as her few close friends. It was hard having to say goodbye to her forever..." Keiji finished.

 

"I'm sorry Keiji." Satori whispered.

 

"I wish we could've been there for you." Kenma sighed and hugged Keiji tighter.

 

"It's okay. You're here right now." Keiji mumbled.

 

"I hate that you had to go through that by yourself though." Satori frowned.

 

"It's fine, it's nothing new." Keiji sighed.

 

"I'm glad you told us though." Kenma replied softly.

 

"Do you want the letters she left?" Keiji asked and they nodded yes.

 

"Who all did she leave letters for?" Satori asked as he and Kenma let go of Keiji so that he could move.

 

"You two, Tooru, Tsukki, Kuroo, Yukie, Konoha, Komi, Kaori, Tadashi, Iwaizumi, Eita and Bokuto..." Akaashi answered as he stood.

 

"Damn that's a lot of letters." Satori replied with wide eyes and Keiji chuckled as he headed to his room to get their letters. After getting their letters out of a drawer on his desk he walked back into the living room and handed Kenma and Satori their letters from his mother.

 

"You can read them whenever you wish." Keiji said quietly as he sat back down on the couch. He was really glad that he opened up but now he felt too exposed for his liking. He felt his face become expressionless again and he pushed his emotions away as his walls built back up. He was reaching for his cup of lemonade when he felt eyes watching him. He glanced next to him to see Kenma staring at him. He raised an eyebrow waiting for the blond to say what was on his mind.

 

"I know that's not all in your head but I know we aren't the ones that need to hear. Not now anyway... When the right person comes along please tell them so that you aren't hurting too long." Kenma stated and Akaashi nodded his head.

 

" **_Anyways!_ ** We're staying the night since we're free tomorrow. So what shall we do for _fuuuun?_ " Tendou grinned.

 

"Spending the night?" Keiji asked.

 

"Do you not know us?" Kenma huffed and Keiji sighed. Kenma moved back to the TV and finished setting up a video game and Satori joined him on the floor. Keiji watched as they began playing the Call of Duty game that Kenma had chosen. Satori shouted taunts and swears at both Kenma and the TV and Kenma played quietly with a slight smile on his face.

 

_Tuesday 11:30 am..._

 

Akaashi sat up and looked around dazed before he realized he was laying on the couch in the living room. He stared at the TV for a moment before remembering that Satori and Kenma had spent the night. He then noticed that someone was actually laying on the couch next to him and looked to see Kenma with his face buried in the back of the couch. He glanced around again and spotted Satori sprawled out on the floor near the TV with his head buried in a pillow. Akaashi climbed off the couch and stretched as he glanced around. On the coffee table sat an empty pie pan, thanks to Kenma, and on the floor next to Satori was an empty ice-cream container and the spoon that was used to devour it was now stuck to Satori's hair. Akaashi chuckled and shook his head before walking to the bathroom.

 

He was cooking pancakes when his friends finally awoke from their slumber.

 

"HELL YEAH! PANCAKES! YOU ARE AN ANGEL AKAASHI KEIJI!" Satori [ cheered ](http://68.media.tumblr.com/e290d09db3c413f1e5725504703fcfe7/tumblr_inline_ofud63APUE1sz2jma_540.gif) after appearing in the kitchen.

 

"Shut up." Kenma snapped, elbowing Satori out of the way and shuffling into the kitchen.

 

"Coffee is ready. There's juice in the fridge." Keiji says as he continues cooking.

 

Kenma heads to the coffee pot and Satori heads to the fridge and both settle at the kitchen table after acquiring their drinks. The table already has dishes, silverware and chopsticks set out on it. After he finished cooking the pancakes, Keiji placed the stack on the table with a bottle of syrup. He then pulled out a pan of eggs and bacon that he had placed in the oven to stay warm and placed them on the table as well. He pulled a container of fruit salad out of the fridge and a bottle of orange juice before joining his friends at the table.

 

"Sho what ah yoh plhansh fo thoda Keiji?" Satori asked with a mouth full of food and syrup rolling down his chin.

 

"Gross." Kenma [ scowled ](https://40.media.tumblr.com/960ecfd4e672cac3f65a8b8348611239/tumblr_o2cbsl0cQU1skuzmuo1_1280.jpg) and Keiji handed a napkin to Satori.

 

"I finished most of my playlist last night while you two were battling each other. I still need to finish the costume and mask...Tooru and Tsukki are coming over to help." Akaashi answered.

 

"Why didn't you ask us for help?" Satori whined.

 

"Because you have an awful sense of style and Kenma could care less about clothing." Akaashi replied.

 

"Hey my style is wonderful!" Satori exclaimed.

 

"Yeah for you." Kenma smirked.

 

"At least my hair is better!" Satori glared.

 

"Say that when you don't have a spoon stuck to it." Kenma snickered and Akaashi chuckled.

 

"HEY! You guys could've told me sooner!" Satori whined as he felt around his hair for the spoon before attempting to pull it off.

 

"I like watching you embarrass yourself." Kenma smirked before pouring himself a cup of orange juice.

 

" _Kenma~_ " Satori glared as Akaashi stood and began helping him remove the spoon from his hair.

 

"Your embarrassment leads to your suffering...I rather enjoy watching it." Kenma chuckled evilly and Keiji laughed as he removed the spoon from Satori's hair.

 

"You guys are mean." Satori pouted as Keiji returned to his seat.

 

"You just now figured this out?" Keiji smirked before he continued eating.

 

"I'll get my revenge." Tendou declared while making a [ face ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CSGCq0AWEAApq8y.jpg).

 

"Good luck with that." Kenma replied and continued eating.

 

"We need to clean quickly when we're done eating. They'll be here around 2." Keiji says and the two nod their heads.

 

After they finished eating Keiji cleaned up the kitchen and Satori and Kenma cleaned up the living room. Once they finished cleaning, Keiji showed his friends to one of the two closets in the hallway. He opened the door to show various outfits hanging up and containers and boxes of material and other supplies neatly packed into the closet. Keiji pulled one of the outfits out and a closer look at it showed that it wasn't completed yet. He handed the outfit to Satori who carried it into the living room. Keiji then grabbed a small container before closing the closet.

 

"Kenma can you get my laptop charger from my room? It should be laying on the floor near my desk." Keiji asked before walking into the living room.

 

Kenma joined them after a couple of seconds and plugged the laptop in. They sat in the living room waiting for their friends to arrive, Kenma playing a game on his phone and the other two watching TV.

 

"It's just Tsukki and Tooru?" Satori asked and Keiji shook his head.

 

"Tooru said something about bringing Shigeru to help out as well."

 

" _Ohhhhh?_ Yaha-chan is coming? How _wonderful!_ " Tendou chuckled darkly.

 

"Oh god......" Kenma froze and stared at Akaashi.

 

"I'll help you hide the bodies if it comes to that." Keiji said and Kenma nodded his head.

 

"Kei will help too."

 

"I imagine so." Keiji chuckled.

 

When the doorbell rang Satori jumped up and skipped to the front door.

 

" _Well Helloooo._ To whom do we owe the _pleasure_?" Tendou grinned after opening the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One hell of a train wreck.

**CHAPTER 5:**

 

**_AKAASHI_ **

 

When the doorbell rang Satori jumped up and skipped to the front door.

 

" _Well Helloooo._ To whom do we owe the _pleasure_?" Tendou grinned after opening the door and was greeted in turn with three glares. Oikawa who was leaning on a cane, shifted his weight to his left leg and whacked Satori on the shins with the cane before shuffling into the apartment. Yahaba laughed and followed Oikawa while Tsukishima sneered at Satori before walking in. Satori glared after the three while rubbing his shins before closing the apartment door and following them into the living room.

 

" _Keiiijiii~_ " Oikawa and Yahaba sang as they wrapped their arms around Akaashi. Akaashi sighed and let them hug him before spotting Tendou in the doorway of the room scowling.

 

"Can you please let go now?" Akaashi asked.

 

"You act like you haven't seen him in forever." Tendou said.

 

"Hey! This is my first time seeing Keiji since last semester!" Yahaba yelled as he let go of Akaashi.

 

"Can you not yell?" Kenma asked from where he and Tsukishima were sitting on the couch.

 

"Shigeru chill." Oikawa laughed as he sat on the couch next to Kenma who was playing a game on his phone.

 

"How long do you guys plan on staying?" Tendou asked as he plopped down on the floor next to the coffee table. Akaashi sat on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee and Yahaba sat on the arm of the couch next to Oikawa.

 

"Oh hush, it's not like you live here!" Oikawa huffed.

 

"He might as well since he's here so much." Kenma muttered.

 

"Oh oh! Guess what!" Yahaba exclaimed.

 

"What?" Tendou asked as he shot Kenma a glare.

 

"I'm actually staying in a house this semester!"

 

"Ohhhh?" Oikawa said with fake excitement.

 

"And guess who my roommates are?" Yahaba said as he lightly shoved Oikawa.

 

"Who?" Akaashi asked.

 

"Kuroo and Bokuto!" Yahaba grinned.

 

"Oh god you poor soul." Kenma said as he briefly looked up at Yahaba.

 

"You've accepted a permanent migraine or an early death from stupidity." Tsukishima said.

 

"So glad I live alone." Kenma muttered.

 

"You chose them as roommates?" Tendou asked.

 

"I don't think it's that bad. Bokuto and Kuroo can be pretty cool." Akaashi said.

 

"It does work out pretty well since all three of them are partiers." Oikawa nodded.

 

"I actually like hanging out with them!" Yahaba laughed.

 

"Keiji......Bokuto and Kuroo...cool?" Tendou frowned.

 

"Yes, Satori. They're not that bad. None of you better tell them I said that either." Akaashi replied.

 

"How would you know? You haven't spoken to either in a while." Tsukishima deadpanned.

 

"Yeah, I've heard Kuroo complaining about that too..." Yahaba frowned.

 

"Not Bokuto?" Tendou asked.

 

"Bokuto is weird..." Yahaba sighed.

 

"Who you telling." Kenma muttered.

 

"...like he's simultaneously loud and quiet. He usually calms Kuroo down when he gets frustrated about Keiji, but when Kuroo asks if Bokuto is okay or if he asks Bokuto anything about Keiji Bokuto just smiles or laughs it off. Kuroo doesn't push it though. I don't know much though since I've only been living with them since the end of July." Yahaba said.

 

"He's really frustrated though. I'm tired of him blowing up my phone with complaints." Tsukishima huffed.

 

"The team has been noticing that Bokuto is a bit off too." Yahaba said.

 

"Yeah, I heard Yaku complaining about it to Iwa-chan the other day." Oikawa nodded.

 

"Off how?" Tendou asked, concern filling his eyes.

 

"He still plays normally but his usual hyperness and loudness is missing. He doesn't pester me or Kanji as much about staying after practice to spike more. Which I'm glad for because it allows his shoulder to rest." Yahaba explained.

 

"He's become the sane one in the 'Bro' pair." Tsukishima sighed.

 

"I can't believe you used the word bro." Kenma commented.

 

"Shigeru, How much do you know about the situation between Akaashi and Bokuto?" Tendou asked.

 

"Just that Akaashi has been avoiding him for the last year or so and that they used to be close friends." Yahaba shrugged.

 

"Make that the last three years." Tsukishima huffed.

 

"Three years?!" Yahaba exclaimed.

 

"Bo-chan confessed to Keiji three years ago and Keiji has been avoiding him since them." Oikawa sighed.

 

"What? Why three years?" Yahaba asked.

 

"It wasn't intentional." Akaashi sighed and Tendou nodded his head in agreement.

 

"So it was accidental?" Tsukishima frowned.

 

"Completely." Kenma answered.

 

"Care to explain?" Oikawa asked with an eyebrow raised.

 

"Well as most people know, Keiji and I have been best friends since middle school. We regularly hung out at each others houses." Tendou started.

 

"Well one summer Satori had to go to a family gathering of sorts and I was at home with my mom. My mom collapsed and was rushed to the hospital while Satori was away. Doctors couldn't really tell what was wrong so they ran some tests and sent her home." Akaashi continued.

 

"While I was at the family gathering I met my dads twin brother and his wife and son. It was kinda creepy because my dad and uncle are identical twins but they almost had opposite personalities. They hadn't seen each other in a while though because of where they worked. My uncle and I have similar personalities whereas my dad and cousin have similar personalities. My dad and uncle were really close friends and brothers and it didn't take long for my cousin and I to become close as well." Tendou continued.

 

"When he came back later that summer the two of us exchanged stories. I told him about my mom and the hospital and he told me about the gathering and Bokuto." Akaashi continued.

 

"Flash forward to the summer before high school...Bokuto and his family moved to the town Keiji and I lived in. Bokuto and I started high school a year before Keiji because we're older and Semi was there too. The four of us became close friends and after a year Keiji was going to the same school as well." Tendou continued.

 

"We all pretty much stuck together up until it was time for them to graduate. After graduation it came out that the three of them were going to the same university. We hung out a bit more during summer and I helped them with their packing. Bokuto had to leave earlier than the two of them because he was going to be on the volleyball team. Well the evening before the morning that Bokuto was supposed to leave he sent me a text asking if the two of us could meet up." Akaashi continued.

 

"Semisemi and I were hanging out at Keiji's house because we were going to spend the night and surprise Bokuto in the morning by going to see him off. Before Keiji left to meet up with Bokuto he asked us to watch over his mom and call him if anything happened."

 

"So I left and met up with Bokuto at the park near my house. He didn't really talk about anything at first but eventually it was getting darker and I told him to say what he needed to say because I needed to get back home. And after he stared at his feet for a bit he finally looked up and confessed that he liked me and that he had for the last year. Before I could reply my cell phone rang and I pulled it out my pocket to see that Satori was calling."

 

"I called Keiji because his mom had collapsed in the kitchen and Semi was already calling the paramedics. So I told Keiji of what happened and that he needed to hurry back."

 

"When I got off the phone I told Bokuto an emergency popped up at home and I needed to go. I didn't wait for a response and just ran home. By the time I got there the paramedics were arriving."

 

"Keiji's mom had to stay overnight in the hospital and Keiji stayed with her. Semi and I still went to see Bokuto off the next morning and we filled him in on everything before he left. We didn't find out about Bokuto confessing until almost a week after Keiji's mom had been back home."

 

"And when I realized I hadn't spoken to Bokuto or heard from him I called him right away, but his phone had been disconnected."

 

"So when Semi and I move onto campus we both sought him out. We didn't have to go very far though because he was actually staying in the sports dorm, which is where we were staying. Semi and I were roommates freshman year and Bokuto's roommate was Kuroo, but the two had met when we played a game against them in high school. Semi asked Bokuto what happened to his phone and Bokuto said he and Kuroo broke it on accident, he didn't clarify as to what exactly happened just that he had to get a new phone and hadn't memorized any of the numbers but his moms. So Semi and I exchanged numbers with him and I even gave him Keiji's number. He said he didn't want to bother him though, that he wanted Keiji to just take care of his mom and not worry about his confession. I told him that what Keiji needed most was someone to lean on and someone to talk to, but Bokuto wouldn't listen. Semi warned him that he was gonna fuck up the friendship but Bokuto said he didn't want to be a bother to Keiji."

 

"Although the four of us were really close I didn't open up to Bokuto and Semi as much as I do with Satori. Semi understood and he was cool about everything and we're still friends. But Bokuto has always been dense and has always struggled with trying to understand Semi's and my emotions and personalities. So it's not like Semi and I didn't understand where he's coming from."

 

"Anyways......I was still friends with Bokuto and every now and then I'd tell him to contact Keiji but he blew me off saying he didn't want to bother him. Well this happened a week or so after Keiji graduated high school, Semi and I were finishing up finals when he contacted us. He told us the latest news on his mom and how she was permanently staying in the hospital. So the two of us made plans to go visit Keiji and Bokuto overheard us. He kept asking what was wrong and how bad it was and I snapped. I told him to fuck off and not bother with us anymore."

 

"So a few days later both Semi and Satori came to visit my mom and I. Semi told me what happened between Bokuto and Satori and he gave me Bokuto's number. I questioned Satori about it and he was pissed, he refused to talk to Bokuto anymore and Semi said he'll change his mind after he calms down. I was going to contact Bokuto after things calmed down with my mom but I never got the chance to. I was packing and preparing to come to university and also spending time with my mom. Then I moved into my apartment, we started classes soon after and that was it......I didn't have any classes with Bokuto either. I also didn't join the volleyball club or team, I had my mom moved to the hospital close to the school. And when I wasn't in classes or working I was visiting my mom. I meant to contact him early this summer but I never got the chance to." Akaashi finished.

 

The room was quiet for a while before Yahaba blurted out...

 

"Bokuto is your cousin?!"

 

"Hot damn." Kenma muttered.

 

"I guess that explains why their mannerisms are similar." Tsukishima sighed.

 

"We actually get our hair and eye color from our moms. Although Bokuto dyes parts of his hair black..." Tendou sighed.

 

"What a fucking train wreck this situation is." Oikawa huffed.

 

"I agree." Akaashi nodded.

 

"This whole situation is nothing but misunderstandings and miscommunications." Kenma huffed.

 

"Essentially everyone and no one is at fault." Tsukishima deadpanned.

 

"What's Semi's position in this situation right now?" Yahaba asked.

 

"He wants nothing to with the drama. He said he's just waiting for us to fucking pull ourselves together. His words not mine." Akaashi chuckled.

 

"He's actually still friends with the three of us though..." Tendou grinned. "Although he says lately Bokuto hasn't been talking to him much." Tendou finished.

 

"Semi is smart." Kenma muttered.

 

"How is your mom doing by the way, Keiji?" Oikawa asked. Kenma frowned slightly, Tendou looked like he was about to cry and Akaashi started twirling a piece of his hair.

 

"What happened?" Tsukishima softly asked.

 

"She passed away." Akaashi said so softly that his friends almost didn't hear him.

 

" **_WHAT?!_ ** " Oikawa, Tsukishima and Yahaba exclaimed.

 

"She passed away." Akaashi said a little bit louder.

 

"Why didn't you tell us?" Yahaba asked.

 

"When did that happen?" Tsukishima asked.

 

"I'm so sorry for asking!" Oikawa exclaimed.

 

"She passed this summer. It's okay Tooru..." Akaashi said.

 

"Why didn't you two tell us?" Oikawa demanded as he glared at Kenma and Tendou.

 

"Hey! We just found out yesterday!" Tendou yelled.

 

"Yesterday?!" Oikawa and Yahaba yelled as they turned to Akaashi.

 

"Keiji when did she pass?" Tsukishima quietly asked.

 

"Beginning of June." Akaashi answered.

 

"And you just now told someone?" Yahaba frowned.

 

"Keiji you should've told us!" Oikawa pouted.

 

"I told you to stop closing yourself off." Tsukishima frowned.

 

"Like you're one to talk." Kenma deadpanned.

 

"Kenma...hush." Tsukishima huffed.

 

"You dare talk to your senpai like that?" Kenma asked with a monotone voice as he raised his eyebrows. The room is quiet again before Tendou disrupts the silence.

 

"So yeah, Keiji didn't tell anyone about his mom passing until yesterday." Tendou sighed.

 

"Keiji you know you have us to talk to, right?" Oikawa asked and Akaashi nodded his head.

 

"Back to the original topic....you two seriously need to talk to Bokuto." Tsukishima said.

 

"Yeah! I need my party pal back!" Yahaba agreed.

 

"'Party pal'? How cheesy..." Kenma muttered.

 

"SO KEIJI! PLEASE TALK TO THE OWL AND CLEAR UP THIS SHIT FEST!" Oikawa yelled loudly before Yahaba could respond to Kenma.

 

"I will when I can." Akaashi chuckled.

 

"You too Satori." Oikawa said as he glared at the redhead.

 

"I will I will..." Tendou pouted.

 

"My mother left a letter for you and Tsukki, Tooru." Akaashi said as he stood and wandered into his room. He grabbed the two letters from his room and handed them to the two when he walked back into the living room.

 

"Open them later." Kenma said as Akaashi set up his laptop.

 

"So you need help with your playlist for tomorrow night?" Tsukishima asked as he moved and sat next to Akaashi on the floor.

 

"Yeah...." Akaashi nodded.

 

"What about your outfit?" Oikawa asked.

 

"It's laying on top of the TV stand." Tendou answered.

 

"The extra supplies are in the hall closet on the left." Akaashi said.

 

"Yay!" Yahaba cheered as he dashed to the closet. Oikawa stood and grabbed the outfit off the TV stand.

 

"Oh I love these colors Keiji." Oikawa grinned as he examined the outfit.

 

"Your stash is almost as magnificent as mine." Yahaba said after he skipped back into the room carrying a container.

 

"Neither of yours is better than mine though." Oikawa declared.

 

"Bullshit!" Yahaba yelled.

 

"I know you are but what I am." Oikawa smirked.

 

"You little ass!" Yahaba frowned.

 

"Hey! My ass is not little! Yours is though."

 

"My ass is bigger!" Tendou cackled.

 

"That's a damn lie!" Yahaba yelled.

 

"Yeah! Kei's ass is bigger than yours!" Oikawa agreed.

 

"How did my ass get into this shitty conversation?" Tsukishima frowned.

 

"Oh good pun." Yahaba chuckled.

 

"Kei's ass is not bigger than mine!" Tendou yelled indignantly. Kenma slipped off the couch and quietly approached Akaashi.

 

"Keiji I'm going to leave now. I fear to catch their foolishness." Kenma whispered to Akaashi. Akaashi nodded and smiled at his friend.

 

"Thanks for lending an ear." Akaashi whispered back. Kenma smiled at his friend before leaving the room and then the apartment.

 

"Don't lie to yourself Satori. Everyone in this room knows that Kei's ass is bigger than yours." Yahaba grinned.

 

"Kei don't be modest! Your ass is fine!" Oikawa smirked.

 

"Did you just pull a Kuroo?" Tsukishima frowned.

 

"Oh? So Kuroo has told you your ass is fine?" Akaashi smirked.

 

"That is not what I meant!" Tsukishima protested as he blushed.

 

"You didn't deny Kuroo calling your ass fine." Tendou leered.

 

"I totally gotta ask Kuroo now!" Yahaba grinned as he pulled out his phone.

 

"Don't you dare!" Tsukishima glared.

 

"Too late!" Yahaba yelled as he ducked behind the couch.

 

"It's okay Kei, embrace the fineness that is your ass." Oikawa smiled.

 

"Everyone likes a fine ass." Akaashi nodded.

 

"He said yes!" Yahaba yelled and the room burst into laughter as Tsukishima turned redder.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kei-chan."
> 
> "Oikawa."

**CHAPTER 6:**

 

**_SUGAWARA_ **

 

After his last class on Monday he had spoken to Daichi about Bokuto. He felt bad that his friend was in a one sided crush and he wanted to help but he didn't know how when Bokuto had a crush on Akaashi. He wondered why Akaashi had been avoiding Bokuto for three years, that was such a long time! Although he couldn't just blame Akaashi, hell even Daichi didn't know the full story. Daichi suggested he talk to Tooru and Kei or Tendou and Kenma since they were closest to Akaashi. He had intended to talk to Tooru and Kei when he got out of his afternoon class but neither could be found when he got home. He found that odd considering that the three of them left together on Tuesday mornings but the two were always back before he was. Yaku had morning and afternoon practice so he always left early and returned late.

 

Suga frowned and thought about where his two too tall roommates could possibly be. He knew Kei didn't have classes on Tuesday but instead worked at the bakery from 8 am until 1:30 pm. Tooru had a morning class and was usually the first one back. Suga himself had work at the library before his afternoon class which was why he left with the two in the morning. Suga sighed and pushed off the couch in the living room to wander into the kitchen. When he walked to the fridge to get something to drink out of it he noticed a note on the dry erase board on the freezer door.

 

_"Suga-chan! Kei and I went to meet Yaha-chan and head over to Akaashi's apartment. We should be back by dinner time, we'll help cook when we get back! - ♥ Tooru ♥"_

_"I brought cake from work, it's in the fridge. - Kei"_

 

Suga chuckled to himself and opened the fridge. At least he knew where his roommates vanished to, even better since they went to Akaashi's. That gave him an excuse to ask about him and Bokuto. Not that he would've needed an excuse since he was going to ask anyway. After grabbing a bottle of water and a slice of cake, he plopped back down on the couch and channel surfed until he found something interesting to watch.

 

Suga had just finished watching a movie and was getting a bit restless when his roommates came chuckling into the house. He checked the time on the clock on the wall above the TV and saw that it was just after 6 pm.

 

" _Heeeyyy_ Suga-chan!" Oikawa greeted.

 

"Koushi." Kei nodded.

 

"Hey guys!" Suga smiled.

 

"Sorry we weren't here when you got back. Keiji sent us a text yesterday saying needed help with something for work." Oikawa explained as he plopped down next to him.

 

"So we told him we'd stop at his apartment today." Kei added as he sat down on his other side.

 

"How'd it go?" Suga asked. Tooru and Kei looked at each other before grins broke out on both of their faces.

 

"It was fun!" Tooru laughed.

 

"It was a mess." Kei chuckled.

 

"We talked about Kei's fine ass!" Tooru grinned.

 

"We talked about Oikawa being an ass." Kei smirked.

 

"Satori and Kenma were there when we arrived." Tooru said.

 

"Kenma left after a bit though, they got a bit crazy." Kei added.

 

"Hey! Don't act like you weren't a part of it!"

 

"I wasn't. You pulled me into that _assinine_ conversation."

 

"Did you just pun? You just punned didn't you? What the hell? You can't do that Kei-chan you're supposed to be my sane friend." Tooru huffed.

 

"I blame Kenma." Kei sighed.

 

"Oh no, I think you meant to say Kuroo." Tooru smirked.

 

"Kuroo?" Kei frowned.

 

"You know damn well that the puns came from Kuroo."

 

"Actually no......you'd be surprised with how much Kenma puns. He even admitted to being the one that influenced Kuroo's punning."

 

"Seriously? It's always the quiet ones..."

 

"Although I'm pretty sure Kenma regrets doing that...considering that Kuroo's punning has infected Bokuto."

 

"I thought they were one with the memes though?"

 

"They both meme and pun."

 

"Oh god..."

 

"Indeed, I feel bad for whoever gets stuck with them."

 

"In that case you'd be the one stuck."

 

"Hah?!"

 

"Kei-chan you can only stay in denial for so long."

 

"I believe the same applies to you."

 

"What?"

 

"Did you think I didn't know?"

 

" _Kei-chan._ "

 

" _Oikawa._ "

 

"OKAAAYYY!" Suga yelled over their banter, silencing the two. He had quietly watched as the two talked, hoping that they would tell everything without getting off topic or in to an argument. BUT, he guessed he should have expected that that wouldn't have happened.

 

"Soooo did you actually manage to help Akaashi-kun?" He then asked.

 

"Um...yes?" Oikawa frowned.

 

"And no?" Kei said, also frowning.

 

"What do you mean?" Suga asked.

 

"Well... We originally went to help him with something for work... Yaha-chan and I had to go help him with his costume for work and Kei-chan went to help with him with his music. Satori and Kenma couldn't help him because we all know Satori is a walking fashion disaster." Tooru explained.

 

"Kenma would've been able to help with the music but for the theme Keiji was doing he couldn't really help." Kei added.

 

"You said 'originally went', did something happen?" Suga asked. He was now hoping that they would give him more information about Akaashi and his relationship with Bokuto. He really did want to help Daichi get closer to Bokuto but he also wanted to know more about Akaashi.

 

"Yeah, a few minutes after our arrival we got into a surprisingly deep conversation." Tooru answered.

 

"It was very unexpected." Kei nodded.

 

"Oh, about what?" Suga asked, tilting his head.

 

"I don't know how much we can tell you, because the conversation wasn't about us. It's something a bit private of Keiji's." Kei replied.

 

"We can tell you some of it and how we got into the topic but we'll have to avoid the private info. To know that you'll have to talk to Satori, Semi, Kenma or Akaashi." Oikawa added. Suga nodded his head and his roommates gave him an apologetic smile.

 

"We would like to tell you but I don't feel comfortable doing it without Keiji knowing." Kei frowned.

 

"And we both know about your _'interest'_ in Keiji, but this is something you should hear from him, not us." Oikawa smiled.

 

"I understand, so continue." Suga nodded.

 

"So when we got there Tendou let us in, he made a stupid comment to which Tooru whacked him with his cane before we walked in." Kei said.

 

"Yahaba and I gave Keiji hello hugs and Yahaba was very excited because the last time he saw or heard from Keiji was the end of last semester." Tooru said.

 

"Why? Aren't they friends?" Suga asked.

 

"They're friends...we all are...but Keiji doesn't reach out to us. Usually we have to text or call him, but texting is better because you'll get a reply. If you call he'll most likely ignore the call or reject the call. He's also super busy, especially at the end of semesters and during summer or breaks." Tooru answered.

 

"Anyways after their 'greetings' there was annoying banter, until Yahaba took control of the conversation." Kei said.

 

"Yeah. So Yaha-chan excitedly told everyone about staying in a campus house this semester." Oikawa continued.

 

"Then he told us that his roommates were Bokuto and Kuroo, which led to Keiji and Tendou having a debate about whether or not Bokuto and Kuroo were cool."

 

"To which Kei called Keiji out about not talking to them in a while so how would he know if they were cool or not."

 

"Then we pretty much complained about how Kuroo was frustrated with Bokuto, Tendou and Keiji. I mentioned being annoyed because of Kuroo blowing up my phone with complaints about the ordeal. Yahaba then mentioned and elaborated on Bokutos weird behavior and how it was getting weirder and that the whole team is aware of his odd behavior. Tooru brought up how Yaku complains to Iwaizumi-san about Bokuto."

 

"Satori then asked Yaha-chan how much he knew of the situation and Yaha-chan answered that he only knew that Keiji had been avoiding Bokuto for the last year or so and that Bokuto, Satori and Keiji used to be close friends. To which Kei informed him that it had actually been three years. To which I further explained that Bo-chan had actually confessed to Keiji three years ago and Keiji had been avoiding him since them."

 

"Wait! Bokuto actually confessed to Akaashi?" Suga interrupted.

 

"Yeah." Kei nodded.

 

"Daichi told me that everyone pretty much knew that Bokuto had feelings for Akaashi and that Akaashi had been avoiding him for the last three years. He didn't clarify as to whether Bokuto confessed and Akaashi avoided him or if Akaashi found out about Bokuto's feelings and avoided him." Suga frowned.

 

"Bokuto is pretty tight-lipped, but he wasn't always like that. He used to be very outgoing, expressive and hyper but he's closed himself off the last few years. Not many know that he actually confessed to Keiji. Semi, Tendou, Kenma, Tooru, Kuroo, Shigeru and I...and now you, know that Bokuto confessed. Akaashi was aware of Bokuto's feelings before he actually confessed though." Kei replied.

 

"How does Semi fit into this?" Suga asked. Despite the fact that he was in the volleyball club with Semi, as well as Tooru, he didn't know the other man that well. He was pretty quiet and either had a scowl or blank expression on his face.

 

"Oh! Semi actually went to high school with Keiji and Satori. Keiji and Satori explained that the four of them have been really close friends since Keiji's last year of middle school." Tooru said.

 

"He doesn't seem to hang around any of them though...why?" Suga asked.

 

"Ah...we can't exactly answer that...that'd be cutting into the part we can't tell you." Tooru answered, an apologetic smile on his face.

 

"Oh...okay... Soooo Bokuto confessed and Akaashi just avoided him?" Suga frowned and Kei shook his head but it was Tooru that answered again.

 

"We actually learned that it was accidental not intentional."

 

"There were several miscommunications, misunderstandings and unforeseen situations which is why it was accidental evasion." Kei nodded.

 

"Either way the whole damn thing is a fucking train wreck." Tooru huffed.

 

"So they're both at fault for the situation." Suga frowned and shook his head.

 

"Well the two of them and Satori but Keiji and Satori are completely aware of what happened and their role in it." Tooru explained.

 

"I think Bokuto isn't fully aware of it though and honestly Semi and Kuroo have a role in this situation too. Kuroo is aware of his which is why he complains to me so much but I'm not sure about Semi-san." Kei said.

 

"They just need to talk to each other and everything just work out." Tooru nodded.

 

"Damn....and you're saying there's more to the situation?" Suga shook his head again.

 

"Yeah....If you really want to know just ask Semi, Satori or Keiji." Tooru said.

 

"It sucks for Kuroo because he only knows that Bokuto confessed and Keiji hasn't spoken to him. Bokuto hasn't told him anything else and Kuroo is afraid to ask Keiji because he isn't sure if they're still friends." Kei frowned.

 

"I'm sure they'll work everything out." Suga smiled.

 

"They had better." Kei huffed.

 

"Suga-chan you also need to make a move on Keiji soon. I won't let you watch from afar anymore!" Tooru declared as he pushed off the couch.

 

"Like you're any better." Kei huffed as he stood. Suga rose from the couch as well and followed his roommates into the kitchen.

 

"What shall we make for dinner?" Tooru asked.

 

"I was thinking stir fry because it's getting late and it'll be quick to make." Suga answered as he started pulling pots and pans out of cabinets.

 

"Let's get started then, Yaku should be home soon." Kei said as he pulled ingredients out of the fridge.

 

"I would like to live another day so we should hurry up." Tooru nodded.

 

"You guys never clarified whether or not you helped Akaashi with his costume?" Suga frowned.

 

"Yeah, we helped him. Yaha-chan and I helped him finish his costume." Tooru smiled.

 

"I helped him with his music playlist and Tendou looked over it to make sure it sounded good." Kei added.

 

"Where does he work?" Suga asked. He was rather curious because he didn't know Akaashi even had a job until this week. He only ever saw the brunet on campus but he never interacted with him before until yesterday. If you could even call that interacting, all they said was 'Hey' to each other.

 

"Ah...maybe we'll take you one day." Tooru grinned.

 

"Yeah, it sure is interesting." Kei chuckled. Suga's eyebrows rose at that. Now if Kei said it was interesting then it really had to be interesting or it was very unexpected. He couldn't wait to find out this new piece of information.

 

"Well okay then." Suga huffed and continued making dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ve been living.”

**CHAPTER 7:**

 

**_AKAASHI_ **

 

He walked into his apartment and shut the door behind him as he removed his shoes. He put away his book bag and strode into the living room and plopped down on the couch. It was just after 2:30 pm and he didn't have to be at work until 6 pm. His duffel bag was already packed with his costume, mask, accessories and CD that he needed for tonight. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV on searching for something to play in the background as he napped. After leaving it on an owl documentary, he set an alarm on his phone. He stretched across the couch and let his eyes fall shut.

 

It was 4:30 pm when his alarm went off. He shut it off and slid the phone into his pocket with his wallet as he stood up. He went to his room and grabbed his phone charger and keys and slipped them into his duffel bag before heading to the front door and putting on his shoes.

 

When he arrived at work it was just after 5 pm. He worked at a bar called _THE HOLLOW,_ which was located just outside of the entertainment area of Tokyo. It was an underground bar, the entrance hidden in an alley, that was open from 5 pm until 2 am every day of the week. The owner of the bar, Oiwake-san, was a close friend of his mom. He knocked on the door in the alley and it opened after a few seconds revealing Kamasaki Yasushi standing in the doorway scowling. Kamasaki immediately smiled upon seeing Akaashi.

 

"Akaashi! It's been a while! Welcome back to The Hollow!" Kamasaki grinned and stepped to the side. Akaashi nodded his head and walked through the door. Inside the door was a short hallway and at the end of the hallway was a staircase with lights going down each step. He followed the stairs down to a landing that was connected to a spiral staircase. The landing overlooked the softly lit bar that was decorated in shades of lavender and silver with sleek black furniture.

 

The bar counter ran across the back wall of The Hollow, shelves holding bottles of alcohol lined the wall behind the counter. A door was also behind the counter, leading to the kitchen and stock room. Black bar stools were neatly lined up in front of the counter. Circular tables, covered in silver table cloths, were scattered throughout the place and surrounded by black chairs with padded seats. A stage was nestled into the left corner of the bar with black curtains pulled shut. The stage was rather nice sized, if a band were to perform they would fit comfortably. Black couches were neatly organized along the walls of the bar with coffee tables placed in front of them. Closer to the stage, several recliners were angled to it with short tables standing next to them. There was enough spacing in front of the stage for dancing, if people chose to do so. The walls of the bar were painted lavender and had various pictures, paintings and art hanging on them. A door was hidden behind the spiral staircase.

 

He looked down on the bar from the landing and saw that there were only a few customers and the staff visible. The bar was open from 5 pm until 2 am every day but during the week it didn’t get busy until around 6:30 pm and on weekends they were busy the moment they opened. He strolled down the stairs and opened the hidden door behind them. He slipped through and closed it behind him. He walked through a short hallway that opened into a big spacious room that had a couch and table set up in the middle of the room. Along the right wall sat four black vanities, one of which was occupied. On the left wall was a door with a window on each side of it, of which the left one had its blinds raised. On the back wall were four doors that were swung inward showing that they were dressing rooms. The wall on his left had two doors that were marked _‘Restroom’_. The wall on his right had a door that was half open showing an empty hallway.

 

“Hi Keiji!” A soft voice called and he turned back to the occupied vanity. Shimizu Kiyoko was turned towards him and smiling.

 

“Hey Kiyoko!” He grinned, dropped his bag on the floor and held his arms open. She rushed to him and they hugged each other tightly.

 

“I missed you Keiji! How could you leave me with them?!” Kiyoko exclaimed.

 

“Sorry, sorry.” He chuckled.

 

“Are you feeling better?” She asked softly and he nodded.

 

“Yeah… I talked about it some, but there’s still a lot I’m thinking on.”

 

“Well you have several people who are willing to listen whenever you’re ready to talk again.” Kiyoko smiled and pulled away.

 

“I know.” He sighed. A door slammed and they both jerked to the noise.

 

“Akaashi. Keiji. How dare you not say hello to me first!” Oiwake Takurou exclaimed and Akaashi chuckled when Kiyoko sighed.

 

“I was going to greet you……eventually.” Akaashi smirked.

 

“I haven’t seen you since the funeral! I was worried!” Oiwake yelled and Akaashi chuckled. Kiyoko walked back over to her vanity as Oiwake stormed up to Akaashi. Oiwake pulled Akaashi into a tight hug and Akaashi smiled.

 

“I didn’t mean to worry you.” Akaashi said, returning the hug.

 

“I’m just glad you look well. You looked like a ghost when I last saw you.” Oiwake frowned.

 

“I’ve been living.” Akaashi shrugged as he pulled out of the hug.

 

“Doesn’t mean you’ve actually been living…” Oiwake glared. “But I am glad that you’re here again.”

 

“It feels good to be back.” Akaashi admitted.

 

“We really did miss you Keiji…” Kiyoko sighed.

 

“Have you prepared for tonight?” Oiwake asked and Akaashi nodded. He was really excited to be back at for work. The last time he’d been here was shortly before his mom had passed away. He missed being here, now that his mom was gone his coworkers were now his only family. Well…them and Satori…But! He honestly missed being on stage and glowing in the spotlight. He missed interacting with his coworkers and with the customers. He missed the sense of fulfillment and happiness that simply being in The Hollow gave him. He missed this place that made him forget all his worries, fears and troubles……even if it was on only temporary……But what he missed the most was being in a place where he felt like he belonged, a place where he felt like he could be himself.

 

“Keiji you need to get ready.” Kiyoko said, interrupting his thoughts.

 

“I will, I will.” Keiji sighed again. He strolled into one of the dressing rooms, shutting the door behind him.

 

Twenty minutes later he was walking out of the dressing room dressed in sleek black dress pants, a silver dress shirt and silver dress shoes. His pants had silver feathers lining the sides that fluttered with every movement or breeze. His silver shirt had black feathers coming from underneath the collar and trailing to his back creating the shape of wings.

 

“ Keijiii~ “ Kiyoko called and he turned to her.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Sit.” She motioned to the chair she was standing behind at her vanity and he quickly sat.

 

“Your hair makes me angry.” She grumbled as she started brushing it.

 

“Sorry~” He chuckled. She brushed his hair for a bit before finally pulling it back into a loose ponytail, leaving some of the strands out to frame his face.

 

“There, much better.” She giggled.

 

“Thank you~” He smiled and stood.

 

“Your hair has gotten so long, it’s past your shoulders.”

 

“Ah…sorry, I didn’t notice.” He chuckled nervously and looked away.

 

“How could you not notice?” She frowned.

 

“I haven’t looked in a mirror…or at my reflection…” He answered quietly.

 

“Oh...”, She paused. “Oh! I’m sorry Keiji! I forgot…” She exclaimed.

 

“It’s fine.” He smiled forcefully.

 

**_SHIMIZU_ **

 

“Well, I should go! I’m up before you~” She waved and walked through the doorway that led to the empty hallway, which led to a hidden door behind the stage. She was really worried about her friend but she had a performance to do so it would have to wait until afterwards. She walked onto the stage and stood behind the curtains until she was announced. Her name was announced and she walked out from behind the curtains to start her performance. During her performance she spotted Tooru in the audience sitting with Tendou and Iwaizumi. She gave them a friendly wave and continued singing.

 

After she finished singing several songs, she bowed to the audience and quickly made her way back to the employee room. She plopped down in her chair and proceeded to drink from her water bottle.

 

"How'd it go?" Akaashi asked her.

 

"Great as usual~" She smiled.

 

He smiled back... "That's good."

 

"Are you ready to sing?"

 

"Yeah, I'm on in ten minutes."

 

"Oh..." She frowned, "I wish you luck! I'll probably have left already once you're done."

 

"Thank you Kiyoko..."

 

"I'll text you asking how it went!" She grinned, knowing well enough that he would never text her if she asked.

 

**_AKAASHI_ **

 

Ten minutes passed by quickly and he soon found himself standing on stage behind the curtains. He slipped his mask into place and took a deep breathe. When his name was announced he smiled and walked out as though he had not a worry in the world.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a year of pining he was finally making progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished editing and reposting the chapters!! I even posted a new chapter~~ It's kinda short but there's a reason for that~~ Ehehehe~~ I'll be back soon with another chapter!!

**CHAPTER 8:**

 

**_SUGAWARA_ **

 

He walked slowly, lost in thought about what to do now. He'd just left work and before that he'd finished his classes. His thoughts wandered to Akaashi and he frowned to himself. It's been three weeks since the first day of classes and he still hasn't made any progress in getting closer to the stoic faced beauty. Akaashi never spoke unless absolutely necessary and when he did speak he kept it short and blunt. He wondered what he could do to get closer to him…

 

Tooru and Kei had helped him some but even they could only do so much. His best option would be to ask the people closest to Akaashi but even that was going to be difficult. He didn’t know Semi well enough to ask him for help and he already knew Kenma wasn’t going to help. That left him with…...Tendou.

 

A sigh left his lips and he glanced around before spotting the redhead he was just thinking about.

 

“Tendou!” He yelled and rushed towards him.

 

“That's my name~!” Tendou called over his shoulder as he turned around.

 

“I have a question for you.” He stated as he stopped next to the redhead.

 

“Oh? What is it~?” Tendou asked curiously.

 

“How do I get closer to Akaashi?” He asked. He knew he was being blunt but he needed to know and wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush.

 

Tendou frowned… “What do you mean?”

 

He sighed… “We have two classes together, we eat lunch together, we see each other on campus but he’s still closed off. I know we're usually with a group of people so it's hard to just outright ask him to hang out without others wanting to tag along but when I think I have a chance….he's already gone. SO! How do I get closer to Akaashi?”

 

Tendou quietly stared at him with his head tilted and face blank. He stared back at the redhead feeling like it was a challenge and not wanting to back down. After what seemed like hours Tendou finally looked away with a sigh.

 

“Just talk to him.” Tendou said still looking away.

 

He blinked… “...What?”

 

Tendou huffed and looked back at him… “Just talk to him. Seek him out, chase him down, stick to his side and push his buttons. If you do that he'll have no choice but to open up to you……”

 

Suga tilted his head in curiosity when Tendou paused and looked away again.

 

“Um…Tendou?”

 

“I think it'll be easy for you to get him to open up, especially since he already has some interest in you…… I will tell you that if it's a week day he's on campus until 3pm and when he's not in class he's in the art museum.”

 

He grinned… “Thanks Tendou! I owe you~!” He rushed off filled with hope and grateful for this new information.

 

* * *

 

 

He huffed softly as he grabbed a stack of books from his cart and put them back on the shelf where they belonged. He desperately wanted to give Tendou’s advice a chance but he still hasn't had an opportunity to talk to Akaashi alone.

 

“If only he'd given me Akaashi’s class schedule…” He mumbled quietly to himself.

 

He sighed softly… Even if he asked Tendou for Akaashi's schedule he doubted the redhead would give it to him. The redhead was obviously protective of his friend and had Suga asked he probably would've thought he had the intention on stalking him… or worse.

 

He finished putting away the books on the cart before pushing the cart into the office room at the back of the floor. He grabbed his book bag and water bottle before walking to the lounge that was tucked away in the corner on the floor. He sat on the bench connected to the bay window before taking a sip of his water and sighing.

 

He and Akaashi were supposed to be partners in art class but because they’ve yet to start any group projects they hadn’t exchanged contact info yet. He didn’t think he could wait until then either. He supposed he could ask one of their mutual friends but he already knew they’d tell him no. He sighed again and looked out the window. He hadn’t realized how close the library was to the art museum, they had to be at least ten feet apart. He stared at the building for a bit before noticing a window level with the one he was currently looking out of. He was about to turn away when a familiar figure appear by the window. He paused and stared in shock as he realized the figure was actually Akaashi.

 

He jumped up and tried to quickly think of a way to catch his attention. He noticed the window on the art museum was open so he hurriedly opened the window he was previously sitting by. Without thinking he yelled out the window…

 

“AKAASHI!!”

 

He pouted when it appeared the other man hadn’t heard him. He huffed before yelling even louder…

 

“ **AKAASHI!!!!** ”

 

He watched as Akaashi’s head whipped around to look out the window and directly at him.

 

“ **WAIT RIGHT THERE!** ” He yelled before grabbing his bag and water bottle and sprinting away from the stairs and to the library stairs. He sprinted to the info desk on the first floor and quickly clocked out, ignoring the odd look Yaku gave him. He sprinted out of the library and next door to the art museum. He rushed into the building looking around wildly for the stairs, when he spotted them he hurried towards them and sprinted up to the top floor. When he reached the top floor he looked around wildly before rushing up a hallway. He opened the door at the end of the hall and stood their panting when he saw Akaashi still standing by the window.

 

“You didn’t have to rush…” Akaashi said softly and Suga collapsed to the floor.

 

“I...I know…” He panted as he struggled to open his water bottle.

 

**_AKAASHI_ **

 

Akaashi approached the silver haired man and gently took the bottle from him. He quietly opened it before handing it back to him.

 

“T-thanks…” Suga panted before taking a long drink from the bottle.

 

Akaashi waited until Suga got his breathing under control before asking…

 

“Why’d you tell me to wait?”

 

“I wanted to talk to you.” Suga answered as he closed his bottle and stood.

 

Akaashi arched an eyebrow, “Oh? About what?”

 

“Weeellll…”

 

“Well what?”

 

“I guess I just wanted to ask if we could be friends?” Suga asked.

 

Akaashi chuckled, “You didn’t have to ask that.”

 

**_SUGAWARA_ **

 

Suga stared at Akaashi chuckling softly. He hadn’t expected that reaction from him, but when he thought about it he didn’t have to ask him that question either. Especially since it wasn’t what he really wanted to ask him.

 

He pouted, “That doesn’t answer my question!”

 

Akaashi smiled slightly, “I know~”

 

“Then could you answer it, please?”

 

“Are you sure that’s the question you wanted to ask?”

 

Suga paused, “...What?”

 

“You asked if we could be friends but the look on your face wasn’t asking that.” Akaashi answered.

 

“What was it asking?” Suga challenged.

 

“You tell me.” Akaashi smirked before walking back over to the window and sitting on the bench next to it.

 

Suga followed him but didn’t sit, “You don’t mind me asking?”

 

Akaashi looked up at him before answering, “No, I don’t.”

 

“I wanted to ask you if we could exchange numbers and get to know each other?”

 

“Alright.” Akaashi nodded as he pulled out his phone and handed it to him. Suga quickly took it while handing his own phone to Akaashi. After they put their numbers in they gave each other their phones back.

 

“Wait…” Suga frowned.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I heard from Tooru and Kei that you don’t answer your phone and that you rarely text or call anyone first.” Suga stated, still frowning.

 

“I’ll answer.” Akaashi replied.

 

“What?” Suga asked, now confused.

 

“I want to get to know you too, so I’ll answer. I’ll even reach out first too.” Akaashi answered while staring at him.

 

Suga smiled… “Really?”

 

Akaashi smiled back, “Yeah…”

 

Suga held out a hand, “Shake on it!”

 

Akaashi chuckled but shook his hand and Suga grinned widely. After a year of pining he was finally making progress.


End file.
